Centering device



Dec. 7, 1948. o. 1. THANEM 2,455,827

CENTERING DEVICE Filed Feb. 27, 1945 20 23 OSWALDLTHANE'M Patented Dec. 7, 1948 1 H- I 55 2 v i I i v .-,CENS1ERING,DEVICE oswald'le Thanema Seattle} -'Wash., "assignor to Qontinentalf -Can' Company, =I-nc.';- New ork, 2-:1 NrYsia: corporation of Neviolork If .npplicationlFebruai-y 2v, 1946, Serial No; 650,686

, rufiffilaims.

This invention relates to --a'n**improved guide I means for-*directing article's traveling in single fileto a movably; mounted rec'eiving' memberf and more partic-ularly --tc I an improved" centering =de- Aeration and thef-cans are then ready' to* be*-filled ;;.1V:i 'th=thB-'pi0dUCt. o lnsicarrying out tha reformationf; of the' can 'sbodies; the flattened bodies-are redone at a time iirfro'mxthez bottomlaof at hopperiby a mech'anism reanalogoustoethat"disclosed: in thea'pplication for l)@3.tent oneFeeder 'rfOI' iflatten'ed cane bodies'i fil'ed .-sDecembertZ9;i-x14345';obyiwillian fi:Eurminger; SS N. .tsevgsso.. I

:he reformingrmachine receivesi the flattened :-::canibodies on 'aihOl l-i floats on aasupport. This horn receives'* the body frem" a 'conveyor.

However; asdthe horn is a floating one, it is not always in the plane of the conveyor. It is, therefore, necessary-to guide the iiidividuaI articles such as can bodies and center them on the point of the horn. For this purpose it has been customary to provide separate upper and lower shoes.

However, they are subject tov excessive wear and 'ce' -zfor directing flattened can bodies fed from "In the manufacture-of-metalcontainers such 11 2 adjustment of universal type'in'which there" isv a --"pivota1=adjustment vertically leading the can bodies to the lever of the horn. 'A further obiect of *my invention is'to' adjust the feeding operation 5 so'thatf-the-can' body is given aJdefinite'piV taI movem'ent horizontally, inwardly and towardthe longitudinal axis'of'the'horn. v

Other incidental objects 'of' noyinvention will be apparent from .the following?'description ofj'the preferred form'of my invention asillustrated in the accompanylngidrawings iI1f Wl:ii'Ch2 i Figk-l is a side elevationof my 'improvedicentering device;

1?,"Fig; 2 is a plarrvie'w, v 7

Fig2'3'is' an end view of the same. and Fig; 4- is a'verticalsection onptheline 4+ 4f"of "il' 'ig; 1. M

For the purpose, ofillustration l'have shown; the base 6 of 'a"feedin machine for,"flattened or'fcollapsedwan bodies, such as is more fully disclosed ""irr'theabove identified patent application of W il- 11am" Fu mi e This feedingmachine has a pair ofjsuper-imposedgflides '1 an'd8 between which the flattened *can'b'ody 9 or=similar article is advanced. byv a chain conveyor, the oppositeedge of the body 9 "resting on a guide 'ledge"8 'whichwith' guide 8 -:forms a track.

"i "gonithe; side 70f ,the,,b ase 6, there is a bracket" I 0 upon which",the-;; .centering device is mounted. The frontfac'e of the bracket-I I] has a horizontal t channel ll which. accommodates "the centering shoe. g' 'Thejoutenendfofthe bracket has a horifntally 'extending'arm I2 byv means of which 35 "springjitension may be applied to, the centerin i shqeflnriqner.

ave shown atjgl3 the usual pointed-thorn 10f v forming rnachinejj iThis-horn has, afloating p r j I we lgknowri the. industryg; In other 'LJWQrdsJJt ero nt o i.the.l rn is subjectit ate and"'vertica1 movement in the normal course of the operation of the machine.

The centering shoe proper M extends horizontally in the channel I I of the bracket and runs from the guides I and 8 past the point of the horn 13. The inner face of the shoe M has a guiding groove I5. The vertical cross section of this groove may be any form suitable to accommodate the rounded side edge of the can body 9. However, I have shown it in the preferred V-shaped cross section as I find this will guide the edge of the can body with greatest precision and minimum friction or wear.

The front end of the shoe l4 carries a hori- 55 zontal rock shaft i6 which extends backward through a suitable opening in the bracket l0 and is held by pin IS. The free end of the rock shaft i6 is recessed to hold the end of a coil spring N. This coil spring is attached at its other end to an adjusting rod [8. This adjusting rod is adjustably held in the end of the arm 12 by means of nuts l9, [9.

The rock shaft I6 is loosely journaled in a hori- 'zontal bearing 20 provided in the opening of the bracket Hit By virtue of this arrangement the front end of the shoe [4 is held at a fixed elevation in the plane of the can body on the conveyor and the rear end of the shoe I4 is free to receive the point of the horn l3 regardless of the vertical or horizontal shift in the latters position. This point as illustrated in the drawings is received in the V-shaped groove of the shoe.

The journal bearing 2!! is held by a pair of vertical pivot pins 2!, 22 adjustably threaded in the bracket Ill. These pins are held in adjusted positions by means of the nuts 23. The shoe i4 is. thus given a freedom for horizontal movement around the pins 2|, 22 as the pivot. This, to-- gether with the tension from the coil spring i'l, insures the rear end of the shoe l4 fitting around the point of the horn [3. The rear end of the shoe will, of course, be deflected away from the horn in order to permit'the latter to receive a flattened'can body. 'By reason of the universal freedom of movezontally toward the point of the horn. I

This form of centering device or shoe is an effective means for transferring the can bodies from a horizontal chain conveying means to the reforming horn or like device. It operates with 'a minimum of friction or wear due to its universal adjustment. It is simple, durable and effective,

While the preferred form has been shown and described for the purpose of example, it is believed that the invention is subject to embodiment in various forms and proportions limited solely by the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is: l. A device for guiding flattened can bodies 'and the like along a track to a floating forming mandrel, comprising a support, a bearing held by the support for pivotal movement horizontally, a shoe journaled at one end in the bearing for pivoted movement vertically, said shoe having a guiding channel opposite one side of said track, and in line with said mandrel, and tension means for swinging the free end of the shoe laterially.

2. A device for guiding flattened can bodies and the like along a track to a floating forming mandrel comprising a support, vertically aligned pivots on the support, a journal bearing held by the pivots, a rock shaft passing through the bearing, a shoe attached by one end to the shaft, said shoe having a guiding channel opposite one side of said track and tensionmeans from the free end of the shaft to the support urging the latter into engagement with the mandrel.

3. A device for guiding flattened can bodies and the like along a track to a floating forming mandrel comprising a bracket, vertically aligned pivots on the bracket, a journal bearing held by the pivots, a rock shaft extending through the bearing, a shoe attached by one end to the shaft, said shoe having a guiding channel opposite one side of said track and a coil spring anchored under tension between the free end of the shaft and the bracket urging the latter into engagement with the mandrel.

4. A device for guiding flattened can bodies and the like along a track to a floating forming mandrel comprising a bracket having a laterally extending arm, vertically aligned pivots on the bracket, a journal bearing held by the pivots, a rock shaft extending transversely through the bearin and bracket, a shoe attached by one end to the shaft, said shoe having a guiding channel opposite one side of said track and a coil spring anchored under tension between the free end of the shaft and the arm of the bracket urging the latter into engagement with the mandrel.

5. In combination, a floating horn for reforming flattened can bodies, a track for feeding flattened can bodies, a device for guiding the bodies to the horn, said device comprising a support, a bearing held by the support for pivotal move- I ment horizontally, a shoe journaled at one end in the bearing for pivotal movement vertically, tension means for swinging the free end of the shoe laterally toward the horn, and said shoe having a longitudinal guiding channel to fit over the point of the reforming horn.

6. A device for directing flattened can bodies along a track to a can body reforming machine having a floating mandrel, comprising a guide bar having a groove extending longitudinally in a side thereof, a universal mounting for supporting an end of the guide bar adjacent the path of can body travel, said mandrel being receivable in the groove of the guide bar at the opposite end thereof, and springmeans operatively connected with the guide bar for retaining the groove thereof in yielding engagement with the mandrel and thereby directing onto the mandrel can bodies conveyedthrough the groove.

OSWALD I. THANEM.

No references cited. 

